When The Rain Comes Down (Mandy Rose Cena And Finn Balor)
by xXBalorBabeXx
Summary: We all have to let out our real selves, how we're feeling... even when we don't want to and try to be strong for the ones who hold a special place in our hearts.
1. Chapter 1

_The soft snoring to his left had woken the heavily sedated Irishman up and he looked over, half of Amanda's face covered by her long tousled hair and the other buried by the pillow that kept both their heads up as she, too deep in sleep to notice the surrounding world, bit down on her lower lip for a few seconds and twitched as she was careful with her fractured thumb, index and middle fingers on her right hand, the fractures a result of her hand getting trapped in the steps._

 _Finn wasn't sure how she wasn't crying or screaming in pain that night... he sure as hell felt like doing that._

 _Lightly stretching the fingers on his right hand, Finn hated the sling already… but he had no choice in wearing it, even if it was only for a few months._

 _Amanda's eyes were slow to open as Finn lightly rubbed his left hand up and down the inner part of her right thigh, the amber tones barely visible amongst the hazel and that worried look in them._

" _You sleep okay? Do you need me to find the surgeon, how's your arm?" Amanda asks, starting to ramble about him and how if she had stopped Seth that the injury wouldn't have happened… the rambling stopped when Finn pressed his lips against hers and the two kissed again._

" _Waking up next to you… that's all I need to know that everything will be okay in its time, Mandy. You worry too much." Finn says, lightly tucking some of Amanda's hair behind her right ear as she rested her left hand near his right one. "Much like I worry about you… but my injury isn't your fault, don't blame yourself." He says, brushing his numbed fingers on his right hand among the scar on her left wrist where it had been broken back in April._

" _That's how we are… worrying about each other. Letting the walls crash and building them back up around others." Amanda says._

" _There'll be one day where we can't build them back… and our vulnerability is out. And it'll be okay… because we'll show the world that we're human." Finn says before the two kissed again._

 _In these gentle moments with him, Amanda Rose Cena could get lost forever… and that's how she wanted it to stay._

"So damn glad to be out of there, for both of our sanity… but are you sure you're okay to drive?" Finn says, asking the last part after I helped him buckle up in the passenger seat of the Altima… I know why he's worried, I've barely slept this past week and I was hurt too when Seth shoved me down at Summerslam.

I blamed Seth initially… hell, I beat him to a pulp, which worsened my now braced fingers and thumb. Do I still blame him? I'm not really sure I can give a truthful answer though, he's injured countless other opponents at times.

But because of the barricade incident, Finn's down to using one arm until the doctor gives the okay to take the sling off sometimes, I didn't feel right being on the road with him badly injured and just having had surgery.

"Yeah… I can drive." I say after buckling up, slowly turning the Altima's engine on with my shaking right hand and driving a little below the speed limit as Finn reached over with his left arm and changed the radio station off the news and to something more lively… one of David Bowie's older songs, _Changes_ , started to play.

I sang quietly, my usual liveliness not there… and Finn can sense that, he's rubbing his left hand up and down my right thigh as I blink a few times, tears falling.

"Pull over… you can't drive like this, Mandy." Finn whispers, me pulling over into a parking lot and turning the engine off as I lean against the seat and feel his left hand brush against my face and look at him. "This isn't your fault… I'm gonna be good as new before we know it and back in that ring. But you can't let the guilt eat you alive… you didn't cause this." He says, pulling me into a hug with his left arm and I start crying into him.

"I don't know whether to still be angry at him or at myself… those hours we were all waiting in that room…" I manage to say, my voice getting stuck in my throat as we looked at each other.

"I know we're still figuring out what you and I are to each other but it's okay to be scared. I was scared I wouldn't wake up at all after... I'd miss seeing those beautiful eyes of yours more than anything." Finn says before we kiss.

Both of us calm down after a while and I buckle back up, restarting the car.

Safely driving home, I stop the vehicle and unbuckle again before getting out and helping Finn out of the car before helping him into the apartment.

I return outside and bring our things out from the car, setting them down before closing the door and Finn and I hug and kiss again... before we hear thunder outside and rain following.

"Well, Florida is unpredictable." Finn says before I grab our things and we head upstairs to clean off.


	2. Chapter 2

**Third Person Perspective…**

"Damn, it's really pouring out there." Amanda says, glancing at the crazy storm outside as she helped Finn dry off after his shower before helping him get dressed and he assured her he was okay as they heard the front door open and close.

The two kissed after she helped put his arm back in the sling and she wandered to the restroom, closing the door.

Taking the tape and splints off of her thumb and fingers, Amanda stripped down and cleaned her makeup off before finally stepping into the shower and starting it, once again glad that she had gotten waxed two days ago.

Amanda closed her eyes as the water soaked her and she ran her cinnamon scented conditioner through her hair before scrubbing the black orchid scented body soap onto her skin as Finn headed downstairs and hugged his mom and dad.

 **Finn's Perspective**

"She's upstairs, she'll be down here in a bit." I say.

"Is she still upset after what happened?" Ma asks.

"Scared more than anything." I say, knowing that look in my parents eyes… Mandy's never gonna unsee what happened to me as well as her or what she did to Seth after that worsened her fractured thumb and fingers… and I don't blame her, that was damn traumatizing.

I headed back upstairs to check on Mandy, who was now wrapped in a towel and trying to towel dry her hair but I stopped her and helped put her hair up in it before carefully putting her index and middle fingers together, bracing them before taping up her thumb.

"You really don't have to do this…" Mandy says as her face turned a light shade of red… she's partly naked in front of me, she's turned… shy?

Is shy even the right word to describe someone like Mandy Rose?

I've only seen her half naked once and that was after she had trouble getting her ring top off because of her right shoulder… the scar tissue under the skin is still damaged, even nine years after the injury itself.

"You helped me… now let me help you, lass." I say, Mandy nodding but the color didn't fade from her face as we kissed before she disappeared into the restroom and returned dressed after a while.

Casually dressed, I might add... black and white yoga shorts and a Balor Club muscle style tank top, her still damp hair in a high ponytail and hardly any makeup on… but she still looks so damn stunning.

Just like she did the first day we met at the Performance Centre… our lives changed forever that day and they were meant to.

Mandy and I headed downstairs, her and my parents hugging.

"You two look tired. Go rest up on the couch, we've got it from here." Ma says as she and Mandy let go, Mandy and I sitting down on the couch and me putting my left arm around her shoulders and her resting her head on my left shoulder after pulling a blanket over us as the storm continued outside.

It's halfway through the _Blood And Roses_ episode of _Miami Vice_ that Mandy's tablet chimed in a video call and she picked it up, answering it and both of us seeing Hunter.

"Aw, you two look all cozy." Hunter says, Stephanie appearing in the screen.

"Aww. Hunter, you're right, they do look all cozy." Stephanie says, Mandy and I chuckling for a second.

"How's everything over there?" I ask.

"Everyone's driving us up the wall, asking when you two will be back." Hunter says.

"Not until they're ready to!" Ma says from the kitchen, both laughing and Mandy's face turning the same light shade of red that it did upstairs.

"Don't worry, we're keeping them under control. Everything okay over there? You two look awfully tired." Stephanie says.

"Yes, we're okay. Just glad to be home." I say.

"Well, there'll be those tough days ahead but you two will weather through them together. A strong support system helps out a lot, that's from someone who's injured both quad muscles in his legs." Hunter says.

"Hunter, that was scary when it happened." Mandy says as I lightly rubbed my left hand up and down her right thigh before putting my arm back around her shoulders.

She was a very young fan during his first quad injury and a young wrestler during his second… I was watching the New Year's Revolution pay per view that night, it was easy to see how scared she was.

Aurora was also a newborn at the time of her dad's injury, Mandy helped watch her sometimes when Stephanie helped Hunter during his physical therapy sessions.

"It was… but everything will be okay, just take your time you two. We'll do okay over here." Hunter says.

"Okay… we'll watch later, alright?" Mandy says.

"If it keeps your minds from going crazy, you two… be safe, both of you." Stephanie says.

"You two be safe as well. Promise us." I say.

"We will." Hunter says before the video call ended and Mandy set her tablet aside after closing out the video call and curled up into me.

There's always gonna be that need to make sure someone you care about is okay no matter how old they get… my parents are here to do that, hers are keeping in touch too and are flying out shortly to here.

With parents, it's that instinct to take care of their kids no matter how old their kids are.

With siblings, it's the instinct to protect each other and take care of each other... Mandy's brothers, biological and surrogate, will always see her as their baby sister no matter how old she gets much like I'll always think of my little brother as my little brother no matter how old he gets.

But with me and Mandy, it's our newly formed romantic bond that makes us want to protect each other… we were close before this but always on that line between friends and lovers.

Now everything's changing… and we won't stop it from happening.


	3. Chapter 3

"How long have… we've been in the apartment by ourselves?" Amanda asks when the two realised how quiet it was after dinner, Finn finding a note nearby.

" _Finn, I took your parents out with me and my wife to show them around, their idea. You and Mandy be careful with each other. ;) Shinsuke."_

"Shinsuke can be very convincing, we might be alone for a while." Finn says, setting the note down and him and Amanda kissing before both heard the intro for _Raw_ start and Finn lightly rubbing his left hand up and down Amanda's right leg.

Creative was clearly starting a good guy turn for Seth… but from the loud boos and chants of _"You got yourself screwed!"_ and _"We want our Demon King and Demon Mistress!"_ , the fans weren't taking to it too well.

"Damn… and I thought Roman was hated." Amanda says, in slight shock.

"Same here. These fans look like they're gonna murder Seth." Finn says, Amanda glancing at his sling and then at her fingers…

" _Stay down, bitch!" Seth yelled after kicking the steel steps, having not heard the sickening sound echo from Amanda's thumb, index and middle fingers… but Finn did and within seconds, his rage took over and he was attacking Seth._

 _Seth fought back and picked Finn up, powerbombing him into the barricade and Amanda's eyes widened in horror as she heard Finn's right shoulder snap out of its socket and Finn saw the tears streaming silently down the petite brunette's face._

 _Finn relocated his shoulder and stood up, running at Seth and attacking him before tossing him into the ring. Turning to Amanda after running over, he pulled the steps away and relocated her fingers and thumb._

" _Your shoulder…" Amanda whispered as Finn crouched down._

" _Mandy, don't worry bout me… get those fingers and thumb checked." Finn whispered to her._

" _After you go in there and kick his crazy ass." Amanda says, the two sharing a quick kiss before Finn ran into the ring and she stood up._

 _The ending was improvised but Finn was handed the championship and him and Amanda embraced each other… but when they walked into the backstage area, Hunter ran to them._

" _Kids…" Hunter says._

" _His right shoulder…" Amanda says, tears glistening in her eyes._

" _Her thumb, index and middle fingers on her right hand…" Finn says, his left arm around Amanda's shoulders._

" _How bad?" Hunter manages to ask… but the looks in their eyes spoke volumes, the two felt like they had fucked up out there and Hunter took his surrogate kids into his arms, all three hugging._

 _To them, everything seemed to move in slow motion after that… the two were holding each other in the trainer's room once they were alone, their foreheads pressed together._

" _I'll be right back…" Amanda whispered, her and Finn kissing again before she left… and stopped to let it out._

" _Mandy?" She heard, her head snapping up and Seth seeing pure rage in her eyes. "How bad?" Seth asks._

" _You dare ask me how fucking bad?! His labrum is torn because of you, you reckless bastard!" Amanda says lowly, her voice increasing to a yell and her clenching her already injured right hand into a fist and slamming it right into Seth's nose before she proceeded further with the beating and Seth's screams were agonizing as he was down on the ground and Amanda was mercilessly attacking him._

" _Roman! Roman, help! Help me, she's gonna kill me!" Seth screamed, Roman managing to restrain Amanda after pulling her off and seeing Finn run to them, Amanda's tears increased and her biting on the corner of her mouth._

 _Roman noticed it again when he looked at Amanda… the shift from the enraged Demon Mistress to the feeling betrayed beyond belief Shield sister… and roughly yanked a bruised and bleeding Seth up to his feet, shoving him back._

" _Fuck off! And don't go near them again unless you want to apologize!" Roman growled, Seth taking off and Roman turning to Finn and Amanda._

" _I shouldn't have gone off like that…" Amanda says as Finn carefully examined her right hand, the fingers and thumb still in their sockets but bruising quickly._

" _Don't be sorry about it, babe. He should've waited until you calmed down." Finn says._

" _Listen to him, Mandy Rose, he's right… you two obviously care deeply about each other, you have for a long time." Roman says, kissing Amanda on her forehead and him and Finn shaking hands. "Take good care of each other… let it happen, embrace your changing relationship." He says before leaving…_

"You're spacing out again, Mandy." Finn says, Amanda blinking and realised that she had tuned out part of Seth's rant about how Hunter and Kevin had screwed him over.

"I repressed it for too long… it's not healthy to do that." Amanda says, Finn pulling her closer until she was straddling him and the two kissing passionately, their foreheads pressed together.

When Shinsuke, Harumi and Finn's parents returned, all four smiled when they saw Finn and Amanda curled up in each other's arms… their clothes were slightly disheveled but they were happy as they watched _Raw_.

 **The next morning, Amanda's Perspective…**

Waking up in his arms always makes me feel better… my eyes open to see Finn smiling at me before we kiss.

"You really shouldn't have taken your sling off…" I say, realising that he wasn't wearing it.

"It's okay… I kept it on through the night, I just wanted to hold you when you woke up." Finn says before we kiss again.

I help him put his arm back in the sling before we head downstairs, still in our pajamas… we're quiet, thinking that his parents are still asleep until they see us and smile.

 **Finn's Perspective…**

After breakfast, we settle onto the couch for a season one episode of _Miami Vice_ , the exact one being _Brother's Keeper_ … and mine and Mandy's eyes instinctively closed when the car bomb went off and killed Eddie Rivera, even though we've seen this episode countless times.

But the one part we hadn't counted on was a loud knock at the door, our eyes opening and us kissing again before she stood up… and yelped as I lightly swatted her right hip, Mandy looking at me.

"Trying to be cute won't stop me from answering that door." Mandy whispers.

"Can't help it if I don't like keeping my hands off you." I say before she headed to the door, unlocking it and opening it… and I see her small body turn stiff before she shook slightly, her left hand dropping to her side.

I stand up and rush to her, my left arm wrapping around her back to steady her, prevent her from falling… before I see just who exactly is here.

"Hey, you two…" Seth says uncomfortably, Mandy and I looking at each other and trying to figure out what the right thing to do would be.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Summerslam 2016, 3 hours prior to the Kickoff show...**_

 _Amanda pulled herself up after zipping up her Balor Club hoodie over her Demon Mistress ring outfit and decided to go clear her mind… before inadvertently running into Alexa Bliss._

" _You realise you're falling for it, right? Falling for Finn's charm? Well, you'll crash and burn with a broken heart, Mandy… he's done this before, even before reaching WWE." Alexa says in a snobby tone, Amanda rolling her eyes._

" _I know him better than you do, Alexa… he's sweet, he's caring, he's honest, he's a damn good man. And honestly, I don't see how it's any of your fucking business. We're all adults, who we were with in our pasts shouldn't matter." Amanda says, Alexa narrowing her eyes at the older diva._

" _Don't say that I didn't warn your scrawny ass… from what I've heard, you were quite a wild one in your younger years too." Alexa says, smirking as she expected Amanda to flip out… but all Amanda did was chuckle and the smirk dropped off of Alexa's face._

" _Yeah, I was… but I grew up. I changed. Nothing wrong with that." Amanda says, Alexa storming off and past Finn, who walked to Amanda._

" _What was that all about, Mandy?" Finn asks, Amanda not seeing the paint on him yet. "She's dredging up my past now, isn't she?" He asks._

" _As well as mine, again. It doesn't matter, it's long over with." Amanda says, Finn reaching out and brushing his right hand against her face in a comforting manner._

 _She didn't look too worried… but he knew better and decided to clear things with her._

" _I think I know who's doing this. Remember when I told you about Aileen?" Finn says, Amanda nodding. "About a year ago, me and her broke up because the long distance relationship wasn't working. She didn't take it well." He says._

" _When the ex sees you as the enemy, things can turn really bad." Amanda says, unzipping her hoodie and pulling it down a bit before turning around, Finn's eyes widening in shock._

" _Randy did that to you?!" Finn asks after Amanda turned back around and zipped up her hoodie._

" _Me and him… were toxic to each other. The day I told him it was over, he went from crying and begging to livid and violent. I was so damn scared, Finn... I thought I wasn't gonna make it out of there alive." Amanda says, trying not to cry._

 _Finn pulled her into his arms, the two holding each other tightly._

 **Present time…**

"Aren't ya gonna let me into the house? It's hotter than hell out here." Seth says, Amanda and Finn looking at each other before letting Seth in.

Although it was reluctantly as Seth could tell that Amanda stiffened a bit after closing the door.

"You still look mad…" Seth says, Amanda tempted to slap him but restraining herself… and Seth changed the subject. "I've always liked that color against your skin." He says, pointing to the berry toned nail polish on the 26 year old's fingernails.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Seth." Amanda says, Seth knowing that she had gone from calm to tense when he saw Finn lightly rubbing his left hand on her right arm.

"Yeah… look, I'm really sorry about what happened. To both of you." Seth says.

Amanda looked outside, narrowing her eyes… and jumping back in fright when she saw a woman about the same height at her watching them, the woman's eyes narrowed.

"You always attract the damn stalkers, you idiot!" Amanda mutters, Seth turning confused until he saw the woman across the street.

She watched them intently… until Amanda pulled the curtains closed, Heather turning startled.

"Damn… shut up!" Heather says, directed at her wristband at the end as it chimed and turned from yellow to light purple.

"The hell is going on out there?" Seth asks, trying to open the curtains but Amanda smacked his hands away.

"Those stay closed until she leaves!" Amanda says quietly, Seth looking around for Amanda's Beretta 71. "Locked it away. And by leave, I don't mean kill, you trigger happy loon!" She says. The trio waited for another quarter of an hour until Amanda pulled a small gap in the curtains, only to see Heather laid on her back on the ground, her gaze to the sun.

"This is fucking creepy." Seth says, Finn dialing 911.

It was about 15 minutes later that Heather stood up when an Orange County patrol car stopped and an officer got out.

"Ma'am, I'm not here to arrest you. Just to ask you to leave the area." The officer says, Heather not believing him and glaring when she saw Finn.

"Couldn't handle this yourself?!" Heather yells.

"Ma'am, calm down." The officer says, Heather glaring at him now.

"You have no idea who you're dealing with, back the fuck off!" Heather growls.

"I have to enforce the law, you're disturbing that man and his girlfriend." The officer says, Heather seeing Amanda.

"I was curious… and now I'm tired." Heather says, walking over to the sidewalk and lying down behind the nearest street lamp. " _Goodnight_ officer." She says, the officer now noticing her lit wristband which was now at a faded pale red.

"Well that didn't work well." Seth mutters.

"What were we supposed to do, go over and ask her to leave?! She could have weapons and we don't exactly have our health at full steam!" Finn says, Heather noticing the sling on his right arm and the tape and splints on Amanda's thumb, index and middle fingers on her right hand.

"Well looking at her… less weapons, I'd call personality disorder of some sort." Seth says.

"Same here…" Amanda says, all three walking back into the apartment as storm clouds started forming and rain poured down, Heather letting out a startled scream as she bolted up to her feet.

"No… not the-" Heather starts to say, jumping as a clap of thunder echoed across the sky and she ran away at full pelt until she crashed into a sheltered alleyway, sliding down against the wall with tears down her face mixed with the raindrops, landing on the ground with her knees to her chin.

At the same time, Amanda jumped slightly as her phone rang but answered it.

"Sorry, Dean… it's just…" Amanda says, Dean noticing the unnerved tone of her voice.

"What happened kiddo?" Dean asks.

"Someone was watching us from across the street, acting strange… we called the cops but she still wouldn't leave." Amanda says, startling Dean.

"Is she gone?" Dean asks.

"Yes. It started storming and she screamed and ran off." Amanda says.

At the same time, Dean was getting out of his rental car after pulling it over, seeing Heather.

"Dean, you still there?" Amanda asks.

"Think I found your girl." Dean says, Heather looking up and quickly standing and backing up.

"Dean, be careful, please." Amanda says.

"Amanda, she's scared… very scared." Dean says, looking at Heather's tense and shaking form.

"We weren't trying to scare her…" Amanda says, Dean knowing that after what had happened at Summerslam, Amanda and Finn were being cautious and keeping an eye on their surroundings.

"I know, kiddo…" Dean says, looking at Heather. "Hey… it's alright, I'm not gonna hurt you. Sorry about what happened, my friends are a bit jumpy." He says after he and Amanda hung up.

"I'm an idiot… a wrecked, ruined, damaged and in tatters idiot!" Heather says, swinging out and slamming her arm to the wall.

"Hey, let's not do that, okay? Don't hurt yourself." Dean says, carefully examining Heather's left arm and Heather calming down a bit.

"Your friends… what happened to them? He was wearing a sling and her thumb and fingers were braced." Heather says.

"Things got a bit crazy. Those were scripted but one of my other friends used a little too much force… he didn't mean to." Dean says.

"Scripted?... Oh… I… I know you from somewhere damn it! It's… Am...brose?" Heather says.

"Yes. That tiny one, Amanda… she's had a lot of injuries over the years but in wrestling, they're considered normal wear and tear." Dean says, helping Heather to the car and into the passenger seat.

 **WWE Performance Centre…**

"Oh… I didn't think you were here too." Dean says when he saw Seth.

"Showed up to check on them…" Seth says, seeing Heather watching Amanda and Finn.

"When you said tiny, you weren't kidding." Heather says.

"Yeah… sorry about earlier." Amanda says after she and Finn walked over to them, Heather seeing Amanda tense slightly when Seth touched her.

"As part of the script, I trapped Mandy's hand in between the steps and post…" Seth says nervously, lowering his hand.

At the same time, Aleister Black was helping Liv Morgan set up the ring when Liv saw the group and turned curious.

"Something up, Liv?" Aleister asks, Liv motioning to Heather.

"I don't remember seeing her here before." Liv says.

Aleister walked over, carefully pulling Amanda aside.

"Hey, easy!" Amanda says, Aleister realising he had grabbed her by her injured hand and letting go.

"The hell is going on here, kiddo?" Aleister asks.

"She showed up outside the apartment, we got freaked out a bit… she ran off and Dean found her. Aleister… we're not sure what to do, we don't know if she has any family out there." Amanda says, Aleister glancing at Heather.

"She doesn't look much younger than you." Aleister says.

"Which worries me because she's clearly scared… we didn't mean to but we panicked and called the police instead of handling it ourselves." Amanda says, Aleister lightly rubbing her right shoulder.

Looking around, Heather saw Samoa Joe setting some of the weights down and her wristband changed to a dark red.

"I've gotta find someone better to help train that woman before she hurts someone in that ring." Joe mutters, rubbing the red mark on his arm which resulted from Lana throwing a barbell at him… before he saw Heather walk over to him. "Hello…" He says.

"Hey… you're right." Heather says.

"I should just stick Mandy with this job but after her fingers ended up broken, I'm not so sure." Joe says.

"Small brunette, doesn't look like she's in her 20s?" Heather asks.

"Yes, how'd you know?" Joe asks, Heather motioning to where Amanda was. "I don't know what she does but she still looks like that 15 year old who first started training to wrestle." He says.

"Maybe that's just how you'll always see her… as that sweet little kid." Heather says.

"Like a little sister." Joe says, thinking back.


	5. Chapter 5

_**4/1/16, NXT: TakeOver: Dallas, just after the Balor/Joe match…**_

" _Would you… hold still, damn it? You got hurt out there!" Amanda says, trying to patch Joe up but he was more worried about her being out there while Finn had walked down to the ring with a chainsaw._

" _You could've gotten hurt too, Mandy… what the hell was he thinking?!" Joe says._

" _The chainsaw? Joe, he never once swung at me with it. It was all for theatrics, that's half of the damn show!" Amanda says, Joe seeing Demon Mistress painted on Amanda's right wrist._

" _Is this theatrics or are you getting too much into your current persona?" Joe asks sarcastically, pointing out the red paint._

 _Amanda gave him a rough shove and left, shaking her head… and nearby, Finn had seen the aggravated look on her face and walked over._

" _Joe's a fucking asshole when he loses." Amanda mutters, Finn resting his right hand on her lower back._

 _At the same time, Joe had stopped a few feet away… before walking over._

" _What did you say to piss her off, Joe?" Finn asks, Joe knowing that he was in for it now if he didn't think of anything to say._

" _I didn't mean it how I asked her, I got a bit ticked… sorry, Mandy." Joe says._

" _It's okay." Amanda says._

 _But Joe knew that she was still mad and knew why… it reminded her of all the times that Seth had flipped out on her._

 **Present time…**

"There are times… that she represses too much." Joe says.

"You'd hate me then." Heather says, Joe turning back to her.

"What happened?" Joe asks.

"A lot… I lost someone. They turned around and made me lose a lot more people… then I had to make myself lose him… and now whenever we meet, it's life or death and I think that… one day… it'll kill me." Heather says.

"Losses are the worst part of life… we've been through a lot. Recently, Mandy lost someone who had been like a sister to her. But one of the worst was a child " Joe says, startling Heather. "No, not like that… this little boy had been like a little brother to her. She was just… for a while, it was like she was slowly dying after he died." He says.

Absentmindedly running her left hand along the ring ropes, Amanda looked at the yellow and black colors… and thought back, remembering the Halloween that a 4 year old Daniel had dressed up as Charlie Brown. Amanda looked over her right shoulder after feeling a hand on her back, seeing Finn.

"Sorry… spaced out for a bit." Amanda says, leaning against Finn. "If you had known me back then, I think you would've ran… I was a real mess, Finn." She says, his hand lightly gripping hers.

"I know… and I've put together comparisons with you back then and… Heather." Finn says.

"No one ever sees it until it's too late… the signs aren't there, maybe we just ignore them. I didn't want to see my family suffering… I hate what Chris did but I still love him. That's not fair to Nancy and Daniel." Amanda says, tears spilling over as the two hugged.

Heather looked at her wristband, seeing a greenish grey in place of the red.

"Stormy…" Joe says, seeing the color.

"Means exactly what it is." Heather says, lowering her arm again.

"Emotions stir up when we remember things… painful things." Joe says, glancing over his shoulder at Amanda in concern… before the raging storm knocked the power out.

"Aw, fuck!" Seth mutters, turning his phone flashlight on. "Everyone okay?" He asks.

"Yeah. Mandy, Finn, you alright?" Joe says.

"Yeah…" Amanda says, brushing her remaining tears away as her phone rang. "Hey, Hunter." She says after answering it, Hunter noticing the signal was slightly staticy.

"What's going on?" Hunter asks.

"Power outage… that's Florida in late August, damn storms." Amanda says.

"Are you all at the Performance Centre?" Hunter asks.

"Yes… the generator must not be working properly." Amanda says, Hunter turning concerned as he knew that it was just fixed up too. "Yes, I'll go check it." She says, the two hanging up.

Once split into groups, it was Finn, Amanda and Dean who found the generator. Amanda tried to flip the switch but Finn stopped her, Dean flipping the switch on as Amanda couldn't bend her broken fingers.

The power back on, the three returned to the others… and saw Heather and Seth in the ring.

"See? Not as intimidating as it looks on Tv." Seth says.

"All the lights and smoke just scare the hell out of me… ever since…" Heather says, trailing off and sitting down on the steps.

"I incidentally got blinded once…" Amanda says, Heather looking at her. "One of our other friends uses too many lights when he walks down to the ring, it's disorienting." She says, thinking back.

 _ **4/6/16, NXT taping…**_

" _Turn that back off, please?" Finn heard after turning the light on, seeing Amanda's eyes closed._

" _Was it all too much, walking out there with Nakamura?" Finn asks, closing the door._

" _Yeah… my vision's still blurred and I feel like I'm gonna be sick." Amanda says, Finn turning the light off and walking over to her, helping her sit up and leaning her against some pillows as Sami walked in, reaching for the light switch._

" _Don't, Sami." Finn says, Sami turning worried when he saw Amanda's half open eyes._

 **Present time, Finn's perspective…**

"I couldn't see properly for about a day after that… thought I was losing my sight." Mandy says after she and I reached the apartment, finding my parents there as Seth had taken Heather to go look around after the storm had lessened up.

"Everything okay, kids? You didn't leave a note." Ma says.

We explain what had happened, my parents turning worried.

"It didn't work calling the cops." I say.

"Still, it was the logical thing to do… she could've attacked both of you if you approached her yourselves." Ma says.

I look at Mandy, who's still got that worried look… but it's worry for Heather and I don't blame her.

I hope Heather does find some sort of stability… I do see similarities between the girls.

Thing is, Mandy's used to hiding her past… I didn't really know it until I got her to open up about what had happened to her.


	6. Chapter 6

**A few weeks later…**

' _We went out that night, now it's your turn to enjoy a night out kids. Your friends Pamela and Rami should be there to help you get ready soon. Love ya both and have fun. ;)'_

Amanda and Finn exchanged startled glances at each other, having found the note after getting back from the airport and neither had any idea where Heather had disappeared to but had a feeling that they'd see her again… they had a feeling that Finn's parents had been thinking of getting them from going stir crazy in the apartment.

Of course, calling Bayley and Sami by their real names implied some seriousness.

"Yep… my parents already love you like you're their daughter in law." Finn says, Amanda nodding in agreement… and smiling slightly.

"Wakey up, sleepyheads!" Both heard Bayley say in a loud and chipper voice.

"Yeah, come on! Date night awaits you two!" Sami exclaimed.

Amanda walked over and opened the door, her and Bayley hugging before she and Sami hugged.

"Come on you, let's go!" Bayley exclaimed happily, Amanda and Finn kissing before Bayley basically dragged Amanda out the door and to the Camaro.

"What took you so fucking long to finally hook up with Mandy?" Sami asked after the two left and he closed the door.

In all seriousness, Finn wasn't sure how to answer that question or if he even knew the right answer… from the first moment he had met the petite brunette in the Performance Centre, Amanda had awoken something in him that he hadn't felt since his relationship with Aileen had started out.

Finn looked right at Sami, finally explaining it…

 _ **July 28th 2014, WWE Performance Centre…**_

 _American woman, stay away from me_

 _American woman, mama let me be_

 _Don't come hanging around my door  
I don't want to see your face no more  
I got more important things to do  
Than spend my time growin' old with you_

 _Now woman, stay away  
American woman, listen what I say  
American woman, get away from me  
American woman, mama let me be_

 _Don't come knocking around my door  
I don't want to see your shadow no more_

 _Colored lights can hypnotize  
Sparkle someone else's eyes  
Now woman, get away  
American woman, listen what I say_

 _American woman, I said get way  
American woman, listen what I say_

 _Don't come hanging around my door  
Don't want to see your face no more_

 _I don't need your war machines  
I don't need your ghetto scenes  
Colored lights can hypnotize  
Sparkle someone else's eyes_

 _The knock on the now opened door made Amanda jump and turn around, seeing two people._

" _See, she's got a lot of energy, Finn." Hunter says, Amanda turning the radio off… but her eyes never drifted away from Finn._

 _She tried to speak but her voice wouldn't obey her and a shy laugh escaped her mouth instead._

" _Aw, don't go shy now, lass. I won't bite you." Finn says before the two hugged, Amanda looking at Hunter._

' _You plotting something, pal?' Amanda mouthed._

' _Who, me? Nah.' Hunter mouthed back… but a subtle wink followed before Finn and Amanda let go and Finn turned to Hunter._

" _Hunter, she's adorable. Where did you find her?" Finn says, Amanda trying her hardest not to blush._

" _I met her back in 2001, her brother used to bring her to some of the events… now kids, talk and get to know each other." Hunter says before leaving, closing the door behind him and his footsteps echoing down the hallway._

 _Finn and Amanda sat down on the couch, Amanda still trying to find her voice… but something about his blue eyes made it hard to speak._

" _Take your time, luv." Finn says._

" _When… when Hunter said that someone new was signing with us, I didn't know what to think… I tried asking him but he reassured me to be patient, that it would pay off in the end." Amanda manages to say, Finn's right hand resting on her left shoulder._

" _He also said you were reinventing your wrestling style before getting back in the ring. I know how to help out with that." Finn says, him helping Amanda up to her feet and the two heading into the main room of the Performance Centre._

 _Once in the ring, the two shook hands as a sign of trust… and Finn snuck behind Amanda, carefully locking one arm behind her back._

" _Now you're a lot smaller than my usual opponents and it's our first session so I'll go easy on you-" Finn starts to say, letting out a startled yelp when Amanda pulled his left arm and got out of the hold before running at the ropes and bouncing off of them with ease and launching her body at Finn, knocking him down._

" _I'm tiny but Rey Mysterio is one of the ones I've learned from." Amanda says with a slight chuckle, her shyness gone as she had Finn pinned down like she was straddling him._

" _Very well played, Mandy." Finn says… before overpowering her and locking her left leg around his waist._

" _Hey, my legs don't bend like that!" Amanda said through her laughter, Finn laughing too…_

 **Present time…**

"And you know the rest from there, Sami. I was surprised when she overpowered me at first." Finn says.

"She's little but that works to her advantage. That and growing up with five older brothers helped out." Sami says.

"Five?! Mandy said she was the youngest of her family and I've met John but… the other four, they're gonna kill me when they find out that I'm dating their baby sister." Finn says.

"Nah, they ain't gonna kill ya… they might give you a talking to about not messing with their little sister's heart but kill you? Not unless they feel reason to." Sami says.

"Very reassuring." Finn said sarcastically.

"Relax, pal." Sami says.

It was about seven in the evening when Finn, dressed in a pair of black pants, black shoes and a black buttoned up shirt, had finished rolling the sleeves up to just past his forearms when a knock sounded at the door and he walked over, opening it… a flash of brick red on her nails was what first caught his attention.

Stood there was Amanda, dressed in a black low cut dress that stopped at the middle of her thighs with lace paneling in the chest and back. She had on a pair of red stiletto heels on, her long curly hair in a high ponytail and her makeup in a subtle smokey eye look and berry colored blush on her face along with a subtle berry lipstick… and the familiar scent of black orchids.

Finn smiled and held out his left arm for Amanda, who linked her right arm into it and entwined their hands before they left in the Altima.

' _Bayley, you have a wicked mind.'_ Amanda thought as Finn's right hand rested on her left thigh at a red light and the two kissed.

She knew to never let Bayley's smile fool her.


End file.
